MASTERS' CHARITY: HAROLD HILL INITIATIVES: PART ONE GETTING STARTED

Each year, as all the Drapers reading this blog will know, the Master selects a charity he wishes the Company to support.  The charity acquires four benefits from this: a significant cash grant from the Company of £10,000, charitable donations by members of the Company - members of the Company are notably generous and a very considerable sum is given, a fund-raising event in the Hall at cost and, of course, further publicity for the charity.

This year I have selected a charity that is not yet a charity.  It is called Harold Hill Initiatives.  As it name makes clear it is focused on getting a number of projects started on Harold Hill.  This is where the Drapers' Academy opened in September 2010 (see a considerable number of earlier posts) is located.

Harold Hill is a former London County Council overspill estate built some sixty years ago.  The estate is  attractively laid out and much of it has  matured well. However it is remote - right on the edge of the green belt - and employment prospects are not good.  Many on the estate are now into a second generation of being dependent on welfare.  This is reflected by the fact that the two wards on the 'Hill' are the poorest in London Borough of Havering and well inside the bottom 10% nationally.  With state-spending cutbacks this is about to become a bigger issue.

Interestingly, although there are a large number of charities working in the inner city -see for instance the next post on the Drapers' City Foyer at Bethnal Green - there are virtually none active on the outer rim of London.

However a very active local group on the 'Hill' including Rev Russell Moul, the parish priest of St Paul's, are in the process of setting up a local charitable enterprise provisionally called the Diamond Trust.  Quite by chance Liveryman David Monro is providing legal on advice on this. This charity will be established within the next six months.  Meanwhile Harold Hill Initiatives can get the work started.

The big advantage of a local charity is that its reaction time can be very quick and can best understand local priorities.  Also volunteer support means that cost overheads are negligible.  We have a number of ideas that can get going immediately.  These include the establishment of a 'Listening Post' where people with problems can receive confidential support and advice and a micro-loan operation to provide finance to get young adults started in setting up their own businesses.

The charitable side of Harold Hill Initiatives will be overseen by Andy Mellows, our Head of Charities, and Stephen Beeson, Director of Finance at Drapers' Academy, will also help out.

More reports follow.

DRAPERS' ACADEMY: HALF WAY THROUGH THE FIRST TERM

North Building with only a few weeks to go before demolition.  Keir's temporary fencing line will be replaced by something a lot more permanent over the next few days.  Framed by trees in autumnal hues the building looks almost attractive - it is alleged to have won an award in 1952.  But times move on and this building has served its purpose over the last sixty years and will be replaced by something very much better.

The Temporary Science blocks.  They may look a bit basic externally but the do the job and are really well fitted-out inside.

I caught the 'Red-Eye to Romford' from Liverpool Street at 6.30am on 2 November to be at Drapers' Academy in time for morning assembly and discussions with Matthew Slater, the Principal, and Stephen Beeson, Director of Finance, so that I could get back in time for the Sir William Boreman's Foundation meeting at 11.00am (see next post).

Things are moving very fast at the Academy.  The team Matthew leads have put in a huge amount of effort to enrich teaching and establish the basic standards of behaviour are are essential building blocks on which to base academic and personal improvement.  I was really impressed with the progress being made.  I think a really great story is starting.

The temporary accommodation providing both great new science classrooms and a girls changing room where the showers actually work are ready to go.  Late connection to the new electric sub-station is a few days away and while I was there the standby generator was failing lamentably and setting off all sorts of carbon momoxide warnings.  But by Friday this should be a thing of the past.

Kier has temporarily fenced off the North Building site and the huge grounds around the Academy are now a lot smaller.

Drapers' Academy has got off to a good start and by the first half-term a lot has been achieved.  But there is huge amount still do on a whole range of issues: raising academic standards, giving every child at the Academy the best chance possible and creating a new school in outstanding buildings.  Big challenges but everyone seems up for it.

DRAPERS' ACADEMY: NEW BUILD CONTRACT SIGNED AND OPEN EVENING 4 OCTOBER

I went to Drapers' Academy on Monday evening to sign the contract  relating to the new buildings for Drapers' Academy and also to be present at the second open evening for the Academy for those wanting to come to enter for September 2011 - more of this in a moment.

Although the actual contracts had been signed last week this was the symbolic conclusion of a complex process that had, as they say, 'gone to the wire.'  The contract is quite complicated in that London Borough of Havering, using a Partnerships for Schools  framework, contract with Kier to build the new academy and once completed it is handed over to us.

Unfortunately the five week delay in July/August (see a number of previous tense blogs about this period) made for a very tight timetable.  Especially as the framework agreement under which we are procuring the academy has been replaced with a different arrangement.  Our framework agreement expired on 30 September so if we had not signed the contract by then it would have been back to start the whole process over again.  Nothing like a bit of presure to raise the tension.

Inevitably there were the last minute hitches as documents had to go through a four way shuttle in various permutations between Partnerships for Schools, Kier, London Borough of Havering and ourselves.  Patrick Thompson at Havering's legal department and Stephen Beeson, Director of Finance Drapers' Academy, both did a really great job to ensure that the machinery was unjammed on the number of occasions when yet another last-minute difficulty had arisen.  At 4.30pm on 30 September, with only seven and a half hours to go, everything was in order and the new-build is now a certainty.  Work begins in earnest on site after half term.


Handing over the pen to Professor Mike Watkinson.  From the left: Professor Mike Watkinson, myself, the Mayor of Havering
Photograph by David Tomlinson



All dressed up with a contract to sign.  Professor Mike Watkinson, myself and the Mayor of Havering taking turns to sign the ceremonial new-build contract.
Photograph by David Tomlinson

At the beginning of the Open Evening we held a small ceremony where the Mayor of Havering, Councillor Pamela Light, Professor Mike Watkinson - incidentally congratulations on his academic elevation of three days ago - one of the Queen Mary governors and myself signed a contract before a large crowd of Harold Hill residents.  As can be seen from the photographs we decided this auspicious occasion was one for full ceremonial dress.  Andrew Ireland, Director of Children's Services Havering, and David Tomlinson, Director Future Schools, Havering who have both done so much to support the project were also present.

Matthew Slater, the Principal, then moved on to the main purpose of the evening which was to present the Academy.  This was primarily for children, and their families, who are thinking of entering next September, but it was clear that the evening had attracted wider interest.  Matthew gave a robust and powerful talk about the Academy vision and two Year 10s (14-15 year olds) gave very positive and confident responses to his questions about such diverse issues as teaching methods, discipline and uniform.  A large number of staff had come in to demonstrate various subjects and the kitchens were open to demonstrate the revised menu.  The prefects also did a great job as guides.

It was a big change from last year.  At that time we had no Principal, or any other staff, no deal signed to establish the Academy and no absolute certainty of new buildings.  What a difference a year makes!